The Pittsburgh Penguins‘ organizational history has a plethora of great players, and we’ve decided to go through the best Penguins’ players to wear each jersey number. Today, we continue the list by naming the best #71 in Penguins’ history.
Three players in franchise history have worn #71. But, to anyone who has been following Penguins hockey for the last two decades, this one is pretty obvious.
The best #71 in Penguins’ history is the one and only Evgeni Malkin.
Malkin was drafted one spot behind Alexander Ovechkin in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, and the NHL lockout that cancelled the 2004-05 season put his debut on hold. There were some NHL-IIHF disputes and Visa issues, anyway, during the 2005-06 season, that would have kept him out even if the season had been played.
But, from the moment Malkin debuted in 2006, it was easy to see that he was something special. Although he didn’t make his debut until October 18 – he dislocated his shoulder in the preseason – he made an impression by scoring his first NHL goal in his first NHL game.
He went on to win the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year, registering 33 goals and 85 points in 78 games.
And that was only the beginning of an illustrious career with the Penguins. Even though he has played second-fiddle to teammate Sidney Crosby for most of his career, there are many who held the belief that when Malkin was at the top of his game during his prime, he was the best player in hockey.
One of his most dominant stretches of hockey came during the 2008-09 season. He put up a career-high in points that season with 113, winning the Art Ross Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy, and his first Stanley Cup in the same year.
And he was a crucial part of the Penguins’ playoff run, scoring 14 goals and 36 points in 24 games – including a dominant series against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final that included a hat trick in Game 2:
Malkin went on to win the Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Trophy in 2011-12, his only 50-goal season. Throughout the course of his career, he’s had three seasons of at least 40 goals, six seasons of at least 30, and 15 seasons of at least 20.
Perhaps his most iconic and famous goal was the one he scored against the Flyers. Yes, you know the one:
Malkin has dealt with various injuries in his 19-year NHL career, which have kept him out for even more games than Crosby. But that hasn’t stopped him from reaching milestone after milestone. Most recently, he registered his 500th career goal, becoming just the 48th player in NHL history and the fourth active player to hit the milestone – and assisted by none other than Crosby himself:
